Junior Genex
by HeroPower
Summary: 14-Year Old Yukihiro Nakahara is considered by his peers to be one of the best duelists in his hometown. However, when a mysterious duelist challenges him, Yukihiro's skills will be put to the test, as a plot begins unfolding around him. Discontinued.
1. The Mysterious Duelist

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, be it the cards, the show or anything like that. I do, however, own the original characters mentioned in this.

* * *

Author's Note: ...I am totally aware of how bad the summary sounds.

So, this is the fic I mentioned on the poll on my main profile, the one with the OC. I figured, since the poll was close... and had so few votes, I'd post the first chapter, see the response, and go from there. So, without further ado, the fanfic.

* * *

A 14-year old boy ran down the sidewalks and across the streets. His golden eyes shone with excitement as he raced through the city, panting heavily. The sight of his open black school uniform and the red shirt underneath were a blur to the people he ran past.

Finally reaching his destination, the boy panted for a few seconds, before wiping strands of orange hair off his forehead. After composing himself, the boy walked into the game shop that stood in front of him.

The boy walked past a few old arcade machines, some billiards tables and shelves of video games, until he found a small table in the back where a girl was waiting for him. The girl looked to be the boy's age, with long, white hair and was wearing a blue, sleeveless shirt under a pink vest.

"Am I late?" The boy asked, looking around.

"Don't worry, Yukihiro." The girl sighed. "You're the first one here after me."

"You're kidding, right, Yuna?" Yukihiro asked sitting across from the girl. "The others aren't here yet?"

"Well, Hiroshi showed up a little while ago, but when he saw that Shintaro wasn't here, he figured he was out fighting someone else again." Yuna explained. "So he went out to get him."

"So I managed to get everything before those two!" Yukihiro cheered.

"And yet you didn't change out of your school uniform." Yuna pointed out.

"Well, sooorry." Yukihiro responded indignantly. "We don't all live so close to the game shop like you."

The two gave a small chuckle.

"While we're waiting on them..." Yuna started, holding up a deck of Duel Monsters card. "...why don't we have a quick duel?"

"You're on!" Yukihiro cried out, unhooking a box from his belt.

As Yukihiro pulled his deck out of the box, a man wearing a business suit sat down at a racing game and started tapping on the controls, staring at Yukihiro and Yuna out of the corner of his eye.

* * *

Time passed and after a few short duels, Yukihiro and Yuna were greeted by two boys around their age. One had a shaved head and wore an open green shirt over a white t-shirt. The other had spiky blond hair and wore a yellow shirt under the same uniform jacket that Yukihiro was wearing. The blond one also had a few scraps on his face.

"Sorry about that." The one with the shaved head said. "Shintaro here was in another fight, just like I thought."

"It's not my fault!" The blond one, Shintaro, snapped back. "They were dissing dueling! And more importantly, they insulted my deck! A duelist can't let someone get away with that! I'd have made them apologize too, if it wasn't for Hiroshi here!"

Shintaro glared at his friend.

"Hey, you were holding Yuna up!" Hiroshi said. "And look! Yukihiro got here before you too!"

"Thankfully, Yuki got here after you left Hiroshi." Yuna said. "I nearly beat him a few times too."

"Hey, don't feel so down." Yukihiro said, smiling. "Your Master Hyperion nearly beat me. I just got lucky."

"Yeah?" Shintaro and Hiroshi asked, both looking down on Yukihiro.

Shintaro and Hiroshi took seats on either side of Yuna.

"Duel me then!" Shintaro yelled.

"Hey, you're the one who slowed us up." Hiroshi said. "I get to beat Yukihiro first."

"What?" Yukihiro asked in shock. "I thought you two wanted to duel Yuna."

"Hey, she nearly beat you." Hiroshi pointed out. "You're rarely off your game."

"Oh, I'm not that great." Yukihiro said, smirking slightly.

"Liar!" Hiroshi yelled, placing his deck on the table. "Now come on! Duel me. And if you win, then you can humiliate Shin."

"Then let's go!" Yukihiro said, beginning to shuffle his cards.

As the two began to duel, the man in the suit got up.

"Not yet." A voice only the man could hear said.

The man slowly made his way over to a wall, leaning against it. To everyone else, it seemed like he was waiting for another machine to be free. However, he kept his gaze on the four duelists.

* * *

"How?!" Shintaro cried out. "I had three Batteryman AA, Industrial Strength AND The Calculator, and you still won?!"

"I'm just that good." Yukihiro gloated.

"Urgh..." Shintaro stammered. "Hiroshi, help me out! Your machines combined with my thunder monsters should beat him! Imagine it! Machina Fortress, Megaform and Force all powered up by three Batteryman C. Yukihiro will lose in one turn."

"Shush." Hiroshi whispered.

"Hm?" Shintar grunted.

"See that guy in the suit?" Hiroshi tried to keep his voice as low as possible while making sure the others could hear him.

Yukihiro, Shintaro and Yuna turned their attention to the man in the suit. He wasn't staring directly at them at the moment. He seemed to be running his hand through his short, black hair.

"Yeah." Shintaro confirmed, mimicking Hiroshi's volume.

"He's been staring at us for the past hour." Hiroshi said. "Ever since we started dueling. Maybe even longer."

"I don't know who he is, but he looks suspicious." Yuki said, also keeping his voice low but audible.

"Yeah." Yuna said, her voice at the same volume. "I mean, who comes into a game shop in a suit? Maybe if he was talking to the owner, but he's looking right at us."

A second after Yuna finished, the man sighed and began walking over.

"Oh, shoot!" Shintaro shouted. "He's coming over!"

"Fight him, tough guy!" Yuna said.

"Me?" Shintaro asked. "He's only coming over here because he heard you."

"I don't fight." Yuna said. "Hiroshi, you go."

"Look, I might be able to fight people from other middle schools, but that guy is at least 23. I can put up a fight." Hiroshi said.

The man now stood in front of the table and looked down on the teenagers.

"Oh no..." The four groaned.

"Yukihiro Nakahara?" The man in the suit asked.

"Y-Yes?" Yukihiro asked, gulping.

"Oh no." Shintaro muttered to Yuna and Hiroshi. "Yukihiro's in trouble with the MIB."

"Yuki, what did you do?" Yuna asked.

"N-Nothing." Yukihiro said.

"I apologize for staring." The man said. "You seem to be a good duelist. Would you mind dueling against me?"

"Uh... Uh..." Yukihiro was shocked.

"Oh, sorry." The man said. "I still haven't introduced myself. My name is Shigeru Nishimura."

Nishimura held out his hand. Yukihiro slowly reached out and grabbed it, shaking it.

"Nice to meet you." Yukihiro said, releasing Nishimura's hand. "I'd introduce myself, but you seem to know me."

"Oh, I asked the shop keep." Nishimura said.

"He's been in the back room since I got here." Yuna whispered to Shintaro and Hiroshi.

"So, will you please duel me?" Nishimura asked.

"Sure." Yukihiro said. "Just let us go grab another chair and..."

Before Yukihiro could finish, Nishimura said, "I was thinking something a little more interactive."

"Huh?" Yukihiro asked.

"There's a room for dueling with Duel Disks, right?" Nishimura asked.

"Well, yeah, but..." Yukihiro started trailing off.

"What?" Nishimura asked, confused.

* * *

Yukihiro, Nishimura, Shintaro, Yuna and Hiroshi stood in a small room with a small dueling arena made out of tape on the floor. The room looked like it hadn't been cleaned, or even used, in months.

"People don't come here to duel often." Yukihiro said, chuckling nervously. "That's why when we meet here, we just use a table."

"I see." Nishimura said. "Well, it should do."

Nishimura walked over to a corner, where two Duel Disks had been placed. Nishimura picked one up, only to cause dust to fly off of it. Nishimura let out a sneeze.

"Sorry about that." Nishimura said, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiping his nose.

Yukihiro walked over to the other Duel Disk and wiped some dust off of it, before strapping it to his wrist.

"We should have warned you." Yukihiro said.

Yukihiro walked across the room to the end of the tape arena, as Nishimura strapped the other Duel Disk to his wrist.

"These still work, right?" Nishimura asked, staring at the Duel Disk cautiously.

"If they don't, give them a small whack." Shintaro said. "That always works for me."

Nishimura repeatedly tried to press the button to activate the Duel Disk, only to continually fail. He looked across at Yukihiro, who lightly whacked the Disk with his knuckles. Yukihiro's Duel Disk activated. Seeing no other option, Nishimura sighed and followed Yukihiro's example, giving a gentle smack to the Duel Disk, activating it.

"You can go first!" Yukihiro called.

"Thank you." Nishimura said, putting on a pair of glasses.

"Complete the salary man look after scaring us to death." Shintaro muttered. "Thanks."

Drawing from his deck, Nishimura looked at his hand.

"I summon Birdface in Attack Mode!" Nishimura called out.

The holographic image of a bird in a chest plate appeared before Nishimura. An "ATK: 1600" appeared on Yukihiro's Duel Disk, telling him the Attack Points of the monster.

"With that, I'll end my turn." Nishimura said.

"I don't get it." Shintaro said. "He's leaving himself defenseless."

"When Birdface is destroyed, it allows you to add one Harpie Lady monster to your hand." Hiroshi explained. "He wants Yukihiro to destroy it."

"Still risky." Shintaro muttered. "We both have OTKs we've pulled off before. Yukihiro could do one too."

"My turn!" Yukihiro called, drawing a card from his deck. "I summon Fire King Avatar Barong in Attack Mode!"

A holographic humanoid monster with a lion's face appeared on Yukihiro's field. The image seemed to distort for a second. An "ATK: 1800" appeared on Nishimura's Duel Disk.

"Darn ol' Duel Disk." Yukihiro said, shaking the Disk slightly, readjusting the image. "Barong, attack his Birdface!"

Barong leapt in the air and struck Birdface with fire-engulfed swords. Birdface shattered as Nishimura's Life Points dropped to 3800.

"When Birdface is destroyed, I get to add one 'Harpie Lady' from my deck to my hand." Nishimura explained, going through his deck.

Once Nishimura picked a card, he added it to his hand, shuffled his deck and placed it back in his Duel Disk.

"I end my turn." Yukihiro said.

"Draw!" Nishimura cried out, drawing a card from his deck. "I activate Fissure! The monster with the lowest Attack Points on your field is sent to the graveyard."

A hole opened up under Barong. A hand reached out and pulled him in.

"When a Fire King monster on my field is destroyed by a card effect, I can summon out Fire King Avatr Yaksha!" Yukihiro declared.

A humanoid with a tiger's face appeared on Yukihiro's field.

"Now, I'll summon Harpie Channeler to my field!" Nishimura said.

A girl with red hair, bird wings and talons, holding a staff, appeared on Nishimura's field. "ATK: 1400"

"Now, I activate her effect." Nishimura called out. "If I discard one card with Harpie in it's name to my graveyard, I can summon a Harpie monster from my deck."

Channeler's staff began to glow. Nishimura placed his Harpie Lady 2 in the graveyard. He began looking through his deck and picked a card out. Another humanoid-bird creature appeared on Nishimura's field as Nishimura shuffled his deck. "DEF: 1400"

"Unfortunately, my Harpie Lady 1 has to go into Defense Mode." Nishimura said. "However, no matter her Position, all Wind monsters get a 300 Attack Point bonus."

Channeler's Attack Points raised from 1400 to 1700.

"Next, I use Elegant Egotist!" Nishimura said. "This allows me to select another Harpie Lady from my deck and summon it to the field, if I have a Harpie Lady on the field."

"Worse." Yuna said. "He can summon Harpie Lady Sisters. Yuki'll definitely have trouble then."

"I don't have Harpie Lady Sisters in this deck." Nishimura chuckled.

A mirror appeared in front of Harpie Lady 1, as Nishimura picked another card from his deck. A replica of Harpie Lady 1 appeared. The only difference was this one was wearing armor.

"Cyber Harpie Lady!" Nishimura cried out. "Her Attack Points are supposed to be 1800, but because of Harpie 1's boost, her Attack goes up to 2100! Now, I'll attack your Yaksha with Cyber Harpie!"

Cyber Harpie flew over to Yaksha and slashed her talons at it, shattering the holograph. Yukihiro's Life Points dropped to 3700.

"Now, Harpie Channeler, attack Yukihiro directly!" Nishimura called out.

Channeler flew over and smacked Yukihiro's Duel Disk with her staff, dropping his Life Points to 2000.

"I'll place one card facedown and end my turn." Nishimura said, as a card appeared between him and his monsters.

After Yukihiro drew a card, he called out, "During the Standby Phase of the turn after Barong is destroyed by a card effect, I get to add a Fire King card from my deck to my hand!"

Yukihiro looked through his deck and placed a card in his hand, before shuffling his deck again.

"Next, I summon Flamvell Firedog!" Yukihiro called out.

A dog made of molten lava appeared on Yukihiro's field. "ATK: 1900"

"Now, I'll attack Harpie Lady 1 with Firedog!" Yukihiro cried out.

Firedog ran to Harpie 1 and bit down on it, shattering it.

"When Firedog destroys a monster and sends it to the graveyard, I can summon out another Fire monster from my deck, as long as it has less than 200 Defense Points." Yukihiro explained. "So I'll bring out Hazy Flame Cerebus!"

A beast with a body made of fire, a mane made of red snakes and three dog heads appeared on Yukihiro's field. "ATK: 2000"

"Now that Harpie 1 is gone, and her Attack Points are back down to 1800, I attack Cyber Harpie with Cerebus!" Yukihiro called out.

Cerebus ran to Cyber Harpie and, similar to Firedog, bit down on the Harpie, shattering it. Nishimura's Life Points dropped to 3600.

"Before I end my turn, I'm gonna activate Circle of the Fire King!" Yukihiro called out. "I can send one Fire monster on my field to the graveyard, and in return, bring one of my Fire monsters from the graveyard back to the field! So, I'll send out Firedog..."

A ring of fire appeared in front of Firedog, who leapt through it.

"...and bring back Yaksha!" Yukihiro finished.

Yaksha jumped out of the ring of fire, after which the ring disappeared.

"I'll place two cards facedown." Yukihiro said, as two cards appeared between him and his monsters. "I end my turn."

"This is weird." Hiroshi noted, while Nishimura drew a card.

"What is?" Shintaro asked.

"He has a facedown, Captain Oblivious." Yuna pointed out. "Why didn't he activate it?"

"Sorry, Yukihiro." Nishimura said. "But this duel is over."

"What?" Yukihiro asked.

"Firstly, I summon Harpie Dancer to my field!" Nishimura cried out.

A blond girl with the same bird-like features as all Harpies, appeared on Nishimura's field. "ATK: 1200"

"Now, I activate my facedown card!" Nishimura yelled. "ICARUS ATTACK! When this trap is activated, I can send one Winged-Beast monster to the graveyard and then select two card on the field and destroy them! Harpie Channeler!"

Harpie Channeler flew high into the air.

"The cards I'll be destroying are Fire King Avatar Yaksha and Harpie Dancer!" Nishimura announced.

'His own monster?' Yukihiro thought. 'Why would he do that? His field will be wide open.'

Channeler flew to the field, catching on fire. The fire spread to Dancer and Yaksha, shattering the three cards.

"That's nice of you." Yukihiro said. "Thanks for giving me a straight shot at your Life Points."

"Oh, I didn't do this to help you." Nishimura said.

"Hang on a second." Yukihiro preempted Nishimura. "When Yaksha is destroyed, I can destroy one card on my field or in my hand."

Yukihiro placed one of the cards from his hand in the graveyard.

"Well, if I may continue." Nishimura said. "All Harpie's are Wind Attribute monsters. Lady 1, Lady 2, Cyber, Channeler and Dancer. When there's exactly five Wind monsters in my graveyard, I can summon this to my field. WINDROSE THE ELEMENTAL LORD!"

A large bird covered in green armor appeared on the field. What little of it's body could be seen was made up of purple rose petals. "ATK: 2800"

"An Elemental Lord?" Yuna and Hiroshi asked in shock.

"An Elemental Lord!" Yukihiro shouted in awe.

"When Windrose is Special Summoned, I can destroy all Spells and Traps on your field!" Nishimura explained.

Windrose flapped it's wings, generating winds that shattered Yukihiro's facedown cards.

'Well, there goes any way to defend myself this turn.' Yukihiro thought, biting his lower lip.

"Windrose, attack his Cerebus!" Nishimura yelled.

Windrose once again flapped it's wings, generating strong winds that extinguished Cerebus' flames and shattered it. Yukihiro's Life Points dropped to 1200.

"I'll set one card and end my turn." Nishimura said, as a card appeared between him and Windrose.

'Sorry, kid.' Nishimura thought. 'Better luck next time. My set card is Skill Prisoner. Once I activate it, I can keep my Windrose from being targeted by any of your Fire King's effects.'

"I draw!" Yukihiro called out. "Once my Draw Phase is over, my Standby Phase starts, and during the next Standby Phase after it was sent to the graveyard by a card effect, I can revive this guy!"

"Go ahead and bring Yaksha back." Nishimura called out. "It still won't stop my Windrose."

"Oh, Yaksha doesn't have an ability like that." Yukihiro explained. "What does is my Fire King High Avatar Garunix!"

A small fire appeared in front of Yukihiro. The fire grew larger, until a large, red bird with teeth growing out of it's beak flew out of the fire. "ATK: 2700"

"Garunix may be strong, but it still isn't as strong as my Windrose." Nishimura explained.

"Maybe my Garunix can't beat your Windrose in Attack Points, but Garunix has an ability." Yukihiro explained. "It's like your Windrose's effect. When Garunix is summoned back to my field through it's own effect, all other monsters on the field are destroyed."

"All other monsters?" Nishimura wondered. "But that means Windrose will be destroyed!"

"Exactly." Yukihiro said, smiling. "Boom."

Garunix flapped it's wings, spreading a multi-colored fire through the arena, burning, and shattering, Garunix.

"Darn!" Nishimura yelled. "Once Windrose leaves the field, I have to skip my next Battle Phase."

"Don't worry, you're not gonna have to skip it." Yukihiro said. "I'll end this duel now. I summon Fire King Avatar Kirin!"

A half-unicorn, half-kirin covered in green flames appeared on Yukihiro's field. "ATK: 1000"

"Now I'll attack you directly!" Yukihiro called out.

Kirin ran to Nishimura and hit it's horn against his Duel Disk. Nishimura's Life Points dropped to 2600. Kirin returned to Yukihiro's field as Garunix flew up. Holographic fire spread over to Nishimura, covering his Duel Disk. Nishimura's Life Points dropped to 0.

"That's all I needed." Said the voice only Nishimura could hear.

Nishimura nodded in response.

"Thanks for the good duel, Yukihiro." Nishimura said, removing the Duel Disk from his wrist and placing it back in the corner.

"Yeah, it was pretty fun." Yukihiro said. "And you gotta tell me where you got that Elemental Lord!"

"Maybe some other time." Nishimura said. "It's getting late. I need to head home."

Nishimura left without saying another word.

"Well, that was an entertaining duel." Hiroshi said. "But I better get back home soon too."

"And I still need to find those losers who badmouthed my deck." Shintaro said.

"You need to get home." Hiroshi said, cracking his knuckles.

"Will do." Shintaro said, laughing nervously.

"I still wanna know why that guy wanted to duel you, Yuki." Yuna said.

"I dunno." Yukihiro shrugged. "Maybe he's really a bad duelist around his friend, and thought he could easily beat a 14-year old to make himself feel better. But I guess I was too good for him."

* * *

As the four friends went to leave the shop, the owner noticed Yukihiro.

"Ah, Nakahara!" The owner called out.

"What's up?" Yukihiro asked, turning around.

"A Mr. Nishimura left you a card." The owner said, holding up a card.

"He left me his Elemental Lord?!" Yukihiro asked, excitedly snatching the card. "Alright! Now I just need to find someone who has the Fire Elemental Lord and trade it for..."

"Yukihiro!" Shintaro called out, interrupting Yukihiro. "Look again."

Yukihiro looked at the card in his hand. It had an address and phone number on it, not a picture of Windrose like Yukihiro expected.

"His business card!?" Yukihiro cried out. "Aw, man!"

* * *

Author's Note: Funnily enough, the old OC I mentioned on the poll doesn't actively appear in this chapter. Like... neither Yukihiro, his friends, nor Nishimura are the OC. He and the explanation behind the name of the fic would be expanded on next chapter.

Anyway, I've changed the poll on my profile, so if you either like me to continue or stop posting this here, go give the poll a little vote and I'll see how things go.

Incidentally, this won't slow down work on the Breaking The Hold Remake Series, if anyone is worried about that.


	2. The Boss Appears

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, be it the cards, the show or anything like that. I do, however, own the original characters mentioned in this.

* * *

Author's Note: Well, the poll to see if Junior Genex would continue... did not have much sympathy for it. As of preparing this, the poll currently has one vote for me not to continue posting this, one vote for another chapter before the final decision to be made. Since someone wants to see another chapter, I figured, meh, I'll post it, get the OC out there, and let people see it. So, here we go.

* * *

During class, Yukihiro sat at his desk, staring at Nishimura's business card.

'Why would he give me this?' Yukihiro thought.

It had been a few days since Yukihiro's duel with Nishimura.

"So?" Yuna asked, leaning forward from her desk behind Yukihiro. "Did you find anything out?"

"About Nishimura?" Yukihiro asked.

"Of course." Yuna said.

"Well, I had my parents call the number on the card last night." Yukihiro said. "It's the number of a store that sell practical joke supplies or something."

"So, he works at a practical joke shop?" Yuna asked. "Why would he have a business card for that?"

"I'm more curious why he wants me to go there." Yukihiro said.

"Maybe he wants to humiliate you for beating him." Yuna suggested.

"I don't know." Yukihiro shrugged. "Maybe. I plan to check it out after school. I already told my parents if I don't come home before dark tonight to call the police."

"Uh... Are you being serious?" Yuna asked.

"Nah." Yukihiro said. "I actually told them if I didn't call before 6 PM."

Yukihiro chuckled a bit, before a piece of chalk flew over his and Yuna's heads.

"Mr. Nakahara! Ms. Kobayashi!" The teacher at the front of the class yelled out. "I don't know what you two are talking about, but I'm certain it can wait until AFTER CLASS!"

"Yes, Mr. Nagashima." Yukihiro and Yuna said, bowing their heads.

* * *

After school, Yukihiro, Shintaro, Yuna and Hiroshi were walking together to the address on Nishimura's business card.

"You really think this is a good idea?" Yuna asked. "I mean, we don't know anything about this guy!"

"We know he duels with Harpie cards." Shintaro pointed out.

"Besides, if Yukihiro's in any danger, Shin and I will just step in." Hiroshi said, with a crack of his knuckles.

"I was hoping he worked at a card shop." Yukihiro mumbled. "I thought he might try to sell me the Fire Elemental Lord."

"Oh, get over it." Hiroshi mocked.

"So, if this Nishi guy is a duelist, do you think he intends for you to duel someone else?" Shintaro asked.

"Or what if that deck he dueled you with were just some random packs he bought and now he wants you to go up against his real deck?" Yuna asked. "I've heard that happened before."

"If those were cards from new packs, and he pulled an Elemental Lord, I..." Yukihiro started.

"Quit with the Elemental Lord!" Shintaro yelled.

"You're not getting one that easily." Yuna pointed out.

"Besides, Pyrorex doesn't fit with your..." Hiroshi trailed off as he began staring at something.

The other three noticed Hiroshi's staring and looked forward. The friends had reached their destination. However, before them stood a shop made out of all black bricks. The sign was a skull, shaped into the words "Skull Magic". The windows appeared to be cracked, but the teens thought it might just be for show. Purple curtains hung inside the windows. Ghostly wailing could be heard coming from inside the building.

"W-Well, Yuki, good luck!" Yuna shouted, stepping back.

"Yeah, buddy." Shintaro laughed nervously. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Hiroshi?" Yukihiro asked, desperately.

"Yukihiro, if there's any advice I can give you..." Hiroshi started, patting Yukihiro on the shoulders. "...if they ask for your soul, BOLT!"

The door to Skull Magic opened and a white mist poured out. A figure stood in the doorway. Yukihiro's friends screamed at the top of their lungs, before running off.

"See you at school tomorrow!" Yuna yelled.

"Guys, wait!" Yukihiro yelled.

"Yukihiro, is that you?" A familiar voice asked.

Nishimura walked out of the shop, wearing a mask over his mouth and an apron over his suit.

"Nishimura?" Yukihiro asked in shock.

Nishimura took off his glasses and looked at Yukihiro.

"Ah, it is you." Nishimura said, as he wiped his glasses off on the apron.

"Wh-What are you doing?" Yukihiro asked.

"My job." Nishimura groaned. "The Boss has me cleaning. Even though he knows my dust allergy."

"You... work at a practical joke shop?" Yukihiro asked. "And why does this place look so creepy?"

"What can I say? The pay is good." Nishimura explained. "As for the look, we've been needing to clean up for some time now. But the Boss has been busy planning something big. Anyway, come in."

Yukihiro slowly made his way into the store. Looking around, he saw all sorts of charms, books and boxes. Many assorted items filled the shop.

"Why did you call me to a practical joke shop?" Yukihiro asked.

"D-Don't call it that to the Boss." Nishimura said, clearly nervous. "Just... call it magic."

"You're not your own boss, right?" Yukihiro asked.

"No, but he wants to meet you." Nishimura explained. "He's in the back room now."

Nishimura pulled off the apron and mask.

"He's an oddball though." Nishimura warned.

"Oddball? How?" Yukihiro asked.

"Well, I'm sure you'll pick up on some things on your own..." Nishimura started. "...but for one, he's terrified of the supernatural. Yet he owns this shop which he claims sells real magical objects."

"Yeah, that is kinda weird." Yukihiro said.

"That's just the tip of the iceberg though." Nishimura said.

"I CAN HEAR YOU!" A voice bellowed from another room.

"SORRY, SIR!" Nishimura called into the other room. "Yukihiro, you wanna go first?"

"If I have to..." Yukihiro gulped.

Yukihiro made his way through some old curtains to a small room in the back. Unlike the rest of the store, there was an open curtained window in the back, letting bright sunlight stream through. Towards the back of the room was a desk, where a man sat in a chair, facing away from the entrance. Nishimura walked up behind Yukihiro.

"Believe it or not, this man is the president of the entire Skull Magic franchise." Nishimura said, before whispering, "Even if it's just this one store, he still insists his title is President."

"Nishimura!" The man growled.

"Sorry, sir." Nishimura said. "I've gotten Yukihiro here like you asked."

"So, you're Yukihiro Nakahara?" The man in the chair asked.

"Y-Yes." Yukihiro said, gulping.

"Allow me to introduce myself." The man said.

The chair swung around to reveal a 35-year old man. He had short, purple hair and purple eyes. Rather than a suit, like Yukihiro expected, the man was wearing a purple shirt and an open purple jacket, with a red tie loosely done around his neck.

"Oh my gosh!" Yukihiro cried out.

"I see my reputation has spread far and wide." The man said.

"It's Rapid-Fire Magician!" Yukihiro yelled. "I thought you were just a card!"

"Uh... I've lost my baby face and cut my hair!" The man yelled. "Why do people still think I look like that guy?"

"This is Skull Magic's owner, Eradicator Reda." Nishimura introduced.

"Hey, kid. How's it going?" Eradicator said.

"Eradicator?" Yukihiro asked, before dropping on the floor, laughing. "What kind of a name is that? Did your parents name you that, or did you change it? Hahaha!"

"Hey! I know someone named Teenager!" Eradicator snapped, before straightening himself out. "Anyway, just call me Rad. I prefer the nickname."

Yukihiro stood up off the floor and dusted himself off.

"Right." Yukihiro said, stifling another laugh. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have laughed. I'm Yukihiro Nakahara."

"As Nishimura said, I'm Eradicator 'Rad' Reda." Rad said. "Owner of Skull Magic and the single greatest duelist ever born in Pool City!"

"Uh... That's not true." Yukihiro said. "Because I'm the greatest duelist born in this city."

"Nishimura, get my Duel Disk." Rad said, as he and Yukihiro glared at each other.

"Sir, we have a more important issue to discuss with Yukihiro." Nishimura reminded his boss.

"He called me Rapid-Fire and thinks he's better than me." Rad said. "I was watching that whole duel, and he still seems wet behind the ears compared to me."

"You were watching our duel?" Yukihiro asked.

"Oh, yeah." Rad said. "I had a small camera put on Nishimura's glasses, and he was wearing an earpiece."

"Why?" Yukihiro asked. "And what do you mean I'm wet behind the ears? I beat Nishimura easily!"

Nishimura hung his head in shame. "Beaten me easily?"

"In a way, I had Nishimura go easy on you." Rad explained.

"Huh?" Yukihiro asked. "Go easy on me? That duel was tough!"

"You don't need to make me feel better." Nishimura groaned.

"Nishimura's not used to a Harpie deck." Rad explained. "I constructed that deck for him to use against you."

"I usually use a deck based around Simorgh, Bird of Divinity, so I'm versed well enough with Winged-Beasts." Nishimura explained.

"Nishi's skills aren't the best." Rad went on. "However, I know an excellent Harpies user if you ever want a true challenge."

"You know Mai Valentine?" Nishimura asked.

"No!" Rad cried out. "My gosh, do you kids know nothing about duelists these days?"

"Anyway, Mr. Reda bought all of those cards for me to test you with." Nishimura explained.

"Test me?" Yukihiro asked. "For what?"

"Precious time... Glory days..." Rad muttered glumly.

"Mr. Reda!" Nishimura said, clearing his throat.

"Oh, right." Rad said, shaking himself out of his sadness. "Yukihiro Nakahara, I'd like to sponsor you in this years Junior Genex."

"Junior Genex?" Yukihiro asked.

"18 years ago, at the Academy, the Principal, Samejima, held a tournament for the students there." Rad explained. "He invited duelists from all over the world, in order to test the next generation of young duelists. Thus, he called it Genex. However, after he retired as Principal of the Academy, he decided to pitch his idea to several sponsors. Now we have the Junior Genex."

"Psst. Mr. Reda." Nishimura whispered. "That still doesn't explain what the Junior Genex is."

"Oh, right." Rad said. "You see, Nakahara, Junior Genex is something of the Junior version of that. Unlike the original Genex Tournament, this one is for kids who haven't attended the Academy. Sponsors pick up-and-coming duelists, usually under the age of 15, who they think have a future in the Pro Leagues."

"But if they already know the duelists are good, why not just send them right to the Pros?" Yukihiro asked.

"Simple, really." Rad said. "Anyone can win some tournament at their local card shop. However, this pits relative newbies against each other. If a sponsor likes that they see, they continue to sponsor the duelist into the Pros. If they don't like them, they drop sponsorship. You wouldn't want your name attached to someone who can't duel at the Pro level, would you?"

"I... guess not." Yukihiro said, after thinking for a second.

"Exactly." Rad said. "'Course, there is a risk. If some arrogant sponsor, we'll call him Grand, were to drop their representative, someone, let's call him Kenzan, who can better see that duelist's potential could become that duelist's sponsor, and Grand would lose a great representative."

"What Mr. Reda's basically saying is that this tournament is a good opportunity for upcoming duelists to find sponsors." Nishimura summed up.

"That's if the previous sponsor drops the duelist." Rad added. "So, what do you say, Nakahara? Interested?"

"I could be a Pro Duelist?" Yukihiro asked.

"Sure." Rad said. "And all ya gotta do is wear a skull on your jacket that says 'Skull Magic'. But I'm sure a kid like you won't mind."

"Kid like me?" Yukihiro asked.

"You remind me of myself when I was a teenager." Rad said. "I use Spellcasters, despite them being cast as evil sorcerers and witches. You use ferocious fire creatures people could easily relate to fire and brimstone!"

Rad suddenly jumped up on his desk.

"You and I both show the world not to see us as EVIL!" Rad shouted, posing on his desk.

"Sir, get down." Nishimura said, burying his face in his hand.

Rad jumped back in his chair before continuing. "Anyway, kid, I like your attitude. Your name also stood out to me."

"My name?" Yukihiro asked.

"Yeah." Rad said. "Hero and Yuki. Those two together scream 'prodigy'!"

"My name's Yukihiro, not Hiroyuki." Yukihiro pointed out.

"Not what I meant, but alright." Rad said.

"In the Pro League, you make money, right?" Yukihiro asked.

"Oh, yeah." Rad said, grinning wildly.

"Well, then I could give some money to the game shop, but..." Yukihiro started.

"But?" Nishimura asked.

"It's just that I don't know if my parents would be okay with it." Yukihiro explained.

"Sure they are." Rad said. "I went and talked to Mr. and Mrs. Nakahara this morning. I explained everything to them. They're all for it."

"No way!" Yukihiro yelled.

"If you don't believe me, ask them yourself." Rad said. "I'm here every day. You can just stop by again tomorrow once they've told you."

"Alright." Yukihiro said. "I'll ask them tonight, and if you did talk to them, I'll come back tomorrow and accept your sponsorship!"

"Good to hear!" Rad said, smiling widely. "One thing though. You truly love dueling, right?"

"Huh?" Yukihiro asked.

"Many of my fellow students at the Academy were only interested in dueling for a few years." Rad said. "I'll admit, I never went anywhere in the Pros, but at least I've made use of my alma mater."

"No, sir!" Yukihiro said. "I've loved dueling ever since I was old enough to hold a duel disk! Anyway..."

"Hm?" Rad muttered.

"Dueling really isn't all that popular anymore." Yukihiro said sadly. "Some people are saying it leads to nothing but disaster."

"Oh, yeah." Rad said. "Some Chosuke guy or something has been blasting the game I love in his political ads! Of course, dueling has caused some trouble in the past. Three demon cards, a cult, a crazy psycho sending schools into alternate dimensions, the darkness."

"Huh?" Yukihiro asked, confused.

"Oh, nothing." Rad said, chuckling.

"Mr. Reda always likes to make up stories about his teenage years." Nishimura explained.

"You're getting a salary cut for that one, Nishimura." Rad said.

"Uh, I take it back." Nishimura said. "Mr. Reda's stories are great."

"It wasn't the tone you said it in." Rad groaned.

"Well, I better get home and ask my parents." Yukihiro said, walking out.

"We'll see you tomorrow." Rad called after Yukihiro.

"See ya!" Yukihiro called back.

'That kid's gonna be big.' Rad thought to himself.

"You know, you do look like Rapid-Fire Magician, sir." Nishimura commented.

"I know I have a pink slip around here somewhere." Rad said, searching his desk.

* * *

That night, as Yukihiro was sitting down, eating dinner with his parents, he cautiously looked up from his food at his father and mother. The two had been staring him at him, eagerly awaiting what he was about to say.

"So..." Yukihiro started, gulping his food heavily. "Uh... I stopped by that place today. Y'know, that place on that business card I got."

"Um hm?" His mother responded.

"I met the owner of the store." Yukihiro explained. "It was some guy in his 30s, calling himself Rad?"

"Go on." Yukihiro's father replied.

"Well, he told me he would be willing to sponsor me in a dueling tournament." Yukihiro said. "If I could make some money by winning the tournament, that'd be great. But I told him I needed your permission first. He said you two spoke with him?"

"We were waiting for this." Mrs. Nakahara explained.

"Mr. Reda did speak with us." Mr. Nakahara explained. "He's explained everything."

"You really love dueling, don't you, son?" Mrs. Nakahara asked.

"Of course!" Yukihiro replied.

"Do you think you'd be fine making a career of it?" Mr. Nakahara asked.

"Yes! Definitely!" Yukihiro cried out.

Yukihiro's parents looked at each other and nodded, large smiles stretching on their faces.

"That's all we need to know." Mr. Nakahara said.

"If what Mr. Reda says is true, then you can gladly participate in this tournament." Mrs. Nakahara said.

"Thank you!" Yukihiro said, bowing his head to conceal a wide smile across his face.

"I do intend to look into this 'Junior Genex' tournament." Mr. Nakahara explained. "If it turns out to be true, I'll give you a call after school tomorrow."

"Yes, sir!" Yukihiro said, nodding his head.

* * *

The next day, after class, Yukihiro was marching proudly to Skull Magic, his three friends not far behind him.

"Your parents are really okay with it?" Shintaro asked.

"Yep!" Yukihiro said.

"But if they were suspicious enough for your father to look into the tournament, why would they give you the okay last night?" Yuna asked.

"I asked them the same thing." Yukihiro explained. "They wouldn't say."

"You said this Rad guy visited your house yesterday, right?" Hiroshi asked.

"Yep." Yukihiro said.

"Wait, are you suggesting..." Yuna started.

"...he did something to Yuki's parents?" Shintaro finished.

"Like maybe he's in league with some evil group and he threatened to axe them if they didn't comply." Yuna suggested.

"Too unrealistic." Shintaro pointed out. "But what if he put mind altering leeches into their skulls!?"

"And you call me unrealistic!" Yuna yelled.

"He runs a magic shop!" Shintaro yelled back. "He could do all sorts of evil spells!"

"Well, you may have a point..." Yuna said, rubbing her chin.

"I can't do magic."

Shintaro and Yuna jumped. The two looked forward and saw Rad standing in front of his store.

"Not anymore at least." Rad said with a chuckle.

While Yuna and Shintaro were talking, the group had made it to Skull Magic, where Rad was waiting outside.

"So, these are your friends." Rad said, nodding. "Good group here. Anyway, I take it since you came, you talked to your parents."

"Yeah." Yukihiro said. "They gave their permission, but I want to know what you said to convince them."

"That..." Rad gave a smirk. "...is a secret."

"What!?" Yukihiro cried out. "Come on! If I'm going to be representing you, you should at least tell me!"

"I have my reasons." Rad said. "If I told you now, it'd ruin the surprise."

"Magic leeches." Shintaro whispered to Yuna and Hiroshi.

"If your parents are willing to keep quiet, that should tell you how important it is that you not know." Rad said.

Yukihiro glared at Rad for a second, before calling out, "NISHIMURA!"

After a second, the doors to Skull Magic opened, and Nishimura again stepped out in a cloud of dust, wearing his mask and apron.

"You bellowed?" Nishimura asked.

"What did Rad here say to my parents?" Yukihiro asked.

"Oh, that?" Nishimura started. "He-"

Rad quickly placed his hand over Nishimura's mouth.

"You tell him, you're fired." Rad warned.

After Rad removed his hand, Nishimura continued. "He didn't bring me along. Mr. Reda never tells me the plan until the last second."

"Oh, right." Rad said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Right?!" Nishimura asked in shock. "You threaten to fire me for telling information I don't know, and all you can say is 'right'!?"

"Yelling at your boss?" Rad asked. "That'll be another salary cut."

Nishimura just groaned to himself.

"Well, if that's how it is, I guess I'll only get my answer by winning the tournament, huh?" Yukihiro asked.

"Hey, for my store to get recognition, I only need you to win one round." Rad said. "Winning the tournament isn't needed. Of course, get to the final round, and then I can't ask for more."

"Then I'm in!" Yukihiro said.

"Great!" Rad said, smiling. "In that case, Nishimura!"

"Yes, sir!" Nishimura said, doing a salute.

"From today on, you'll be training Yukihiro." Rad explained.

"What?!" Both Nishimura and Yukihiro cried.

"I have to train him?" Nishimura asked.

"I have to be trained by him?" Yukihiro asked. "But I beat him!"

"I'm far too busy to be training anyone." Rad said, stretching. "Heck, I need to get to my office and make a few calls."

"Don't believe him." Nishimura said. "Mr. Reda usually has his nose buried in some book."

"Look, if Yukihiro's gonna represent Skull Magic in the tournament, he needs all the help he can get." Rad said. "I'll do what I can, you do what you can."

"Yes, sir..." Nishimura muttered.

"Well then, as I've said, I have some calls to make." Rad said, turning around. "Nishimura, get to work."

Finishing his business outside, Rad walked back into his store.

"Alright, Yukihiro, I guess it's my job to teach you now." Nishimura said, looking at the ground. "Let's get started."

Nishimura looked up to see Yukihiro and his friends walking off.

"I already beat this guy." Yukihiro said. "No way can he teach me anything."

"Yeah." Shintaro said. "He might have had a rare card, but that doesn't get you far in the dueling world."

"The owner of the store looked like a better duelist than Nishimura." Yuna commented. "He's probably a better teacher too."

"No offense, Yuki, but you're not the greatest duelist out there." Hiroshi said. "You could use some teaching. But if it's from this guy, you'll probably just get worse."

"I'll have you know I've won several local tournaments!" Nishimura shouted.

The four friends looked back at Nishimura and smiled, laughing.

"Uh... I hate kids..." Nishimura said with a groan.

* * *

Rad sat in his office, holding a cell phone to his ear.

"Yeah." Rad said. "I've found a duelist to compete in the tournament. He's pretty good. Yeah, the plan should go off perfectly."

* * *

Author's Note: ...Look, give me a break on Rad's name. I named him when I was a pre-teen. Any of my older fans know how terrible my writing was back in 2007, and I named Rad prior to that. Since I started posting these on the old RP forum where I used the guy, I just used the same name. Alternatively, I refer to him as Yuji Narumi, since I once had this idea to try and make a Yu-Gi-Oh series based around the character, with Eradicator used as his nickname after beating some top dog duelist. (Okay, actually, he was gonna be Yuya Narumi, but then news of Arc-V hit, and once again, I end up unknowingly predicting something in Yu-Gi-Oh...) So, if this somehow gets passed the second "Should I continue?" poll, I'll put a poll up asking whether I should use the old name (Rad Reda) or new name (Yuji Narumi).

Oh, yeah. The poll. So, by the time I've posted this, I've changed the poll. No "One more chapter" option this time. It's strictly "Yes, you should continue" or "No, end it". So, if you either like me to continue or stop posting this here, go give the poll a little vote and I'll see how things go.

And yes, if this does continue, the tournament will start next time.


End file.
